Recap / Ed, Edd n Eddy S4E12 "A Twist of Ed"

Airdate: November 17, 2003

The Eds are once again attacked and romantically mauled by The Kanker Sisters. Tired of being bothered by them, The Eds decide to find a way to be rid of them once and for all. Double D eventually decides to use Reverse Psychology and get rid of them by doing to them what they have been doing to the Eds. Ed and Double D are successful in scaring away The Kankers, but things fall apart when it is Eddy's turn.

---

"A Twist Of Ed" provides examples of:

• Abhorrent Admirer: The Kankers play this role at the beginning of the episode as usual, only for Ed and Double D to play it afterwards. The Kankers end up regaining it by the end of the episode.
• Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Exaggerated; Ed begins flirting with the Kankers by rubbing May's head and calling her pretty. But he does it very roughly, resulting in her getting Messy Hair.
• All for Nothing: The Eds attempt to get rid of The Kankers by pretending to be in love with them and harassing them with flirtation. One mistake by Eddy causes them to fail and end up trapped with them yet again, with the Kanker's own love for the Eds now being stronger than ever.
• All Girls Want Bad Boys: Implied at the end with Marie. She and her sisters spend most of the episode in fear of the Eds for harassing them, until they figure out it is all just a trick and trap them. As Marie approaches Double D at the end, she hardly even tries to hide her intentions, giggles seductively and giving a huge love-struck smirk. Apparently, the experience of having him sexually harass her and scare her only made her crush on him even stronger.
• Attack Hello:
  • Marie does this to Double D in the opening scene. Once he finds her lipstick in his backyard, implied to have been purposely left by her for him to find, and freezes in fear as he glances around looking for her, she lets out a loud "YAHOO!" and tackles him from behind knocking him off-screen as she snatches her lipstick back. In the next shot she greets him with a chipper "Hiya, dreamboat!" as she ties him in a knot with his own hat.
  • Downplayed with May. When Ed fails to initially notice her after pulling her out of a drawer, she greets him with a surprise Bear Hug from behind while slyly flirting with him. Barely a second later though, she drags him backwards, with us seeing via a spoon's reflection she has pulled him to the ground and is pinning him down by sitting on top of him and holding him down.
• Bad "Bad Acting": Unlike Ed and Double D, who both put on very convincing performances when pretending to be in love with The Kankers, The Kankers barely put any effort into their act. They speak with very flat tones when acting "scared" of the Eds and telling them to "leave them alone." Despite this, Ed and Eddy are completely fooled until they are being physically retrained and Double D only starts suspecting something when Lee "accidentally" locks them in.
• The Bad Guy Wins: The Kankers catch on to The Eds plan, and using their own reverse psychology they trap them in their room for yet another assault of kisses.
• Bear Hug: May greets Ed with a surprise one from behind before pulling him to the ground and pinning him.
  May: A big hug for my honey!
• Be Careful What You Wish For: The Kankers finally get the Eds to (apparently) return their feeling for them and love them, as they have wanted the Eds to do ever since they have met and have attempted to romance the Eds into doing before. But now they are subjected to the same level of harassment they have given the Eds. It doesn't last long.
• Blatant Lies: At the end of the episode Marie appears in front of Double D, and pretends to still be scared of him for a moment, asking him not to kiss her in a mock scared voice, only to immediately giggle seductively and approach him with a love-struck smile.
• Bookend: The episode begins with each Kanker attacking and kissing their respective "boyfriend" in their own homes, at the end of the episode they trap The Eds in their bedroom in their trailer and force another round of kissing on them.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: When Double D says all three of them must use his Reverse Psychology tactic on The Kankers, Eddy refuses and says he'll "wait for The Movie."
• Broken Record: At the Retro Van, Ed and Eddy chant for Double D to "think" of something to get rid of the Kankers. They continue shouting "Think!" over and over in quick succession, with Ed even honking the van's horn for fun, until Double D gets them to be quiet by screaming "VERY WELL THEN!"
• Bullying a Dragon: After all the times the Kankers have defeated them, including physically harming them numerous times, the Eds still take the risk of trying to get rid of them by harassing them with flirts. When the Kankers see through their plan at the end and overcome their fear they easily overpower and restrain the Eds.
• Comically Missing the Point:
  • Ed doesn't get Rolf's explanation of using a rock to break another rock and asks if various food items can also break a rock.
  • Eddy thinks that using Reverse Psychology against The Kankers just means to hit them with a book, which he thinks is much more creative than just hitting them with a rock.
• Covered in Kisses: The Eds are all left like this after their encounters with the Kankers at the start of the episode. When they meet up at the Retro Van to escape the Kankers they all recognize the lipstick stains on each other's faces and immediately realize they all suffered the same experience.
• Crush Blush: May blushes after Ed ruffles her hair and calls her pretty. Though she quickly loses it when she becomes disturbed and scared by Ed's harassment.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Not exactly "battles" but the Kankers show once again they can easily overpower the Eds. The opening scene has all of them attacking and restraining the Eds in some way, with Marie tackling Double D from behind and literally tying him in a knot, May pulling Ed to the ground and pinning him, and Lee preventing Eddy from escaping his shower. The ending scene has the Kankers once again restrain the Eds in a matter of seconds once they get over their fear of them.
• Dance Battler: Played for Laughs with Ed. While flirting with the Kankers, he decides to dance with Marie and Lee (at the same time), creeping them out with how fast he's taking things. He tapes their hands to his hip and violently dances with them both by slamming them into him and throwing them around roughly, making them both more scared of him by the second, until the tape comes loose from an abrupt turn and they both go flying.
• Easily Forgiven: After the Kankers realize what the Eds are doing they instantly stop being scared of them and regain their crushes on them. The Kankers lure the Eds into a trap where they lock them in their room and kiss them as revenge, but it is clear that they still consider them their "boyfriends" and are still in love with them despite their earlier harassment. If anything, it is implied that the event made their feeling for the Eds even stronger, with Marie even giving Double D a love-struck smile as she approaches him, apparently finding him even more attractive now.
• Eat the Camera: A variation, being more "Kiss the Camera". In the opening scene, after Marie applies her lipstick and leans in to kiss Double D, the screen stays in focus of her as her lips cover the screen, turning it red. It then fades from red to black once Marie lets out a loud "Mwah" sound, indicating she has kissed Double D.
• Enraged by Idiocy: Ed is so unable to understand Rolf's modus operandi with the rocks that Rolf becomes really tempted to bash Ed's head in with the one he's holding.
  Ed: Pizza slice breaks rock?
  Rolf: (getting frustrated) Ed-boy! No pizza, rock!
  Ed: Half-eaten pretzel bagel breaks rock?
  Rolf: (raises a rock over his head threateningly) MUST ROLF BEAT SOME SENSE INTO THAT OVERCOOKED NOODLE THAT YOU CALL A HEAD?!
• Everyone Has Standards: Eddy is nervous about the plan at first and hopes Double D is right, otherwise Ed will be a goner against all three Kankers.
• Evil Laugh: Lee does one when Eddy tries to escape the shower they are in before proceeding to kiss him off-screen. At the end of the episode all three Kankers chuckle evilly before puckering up and leaning in to kiss their "boyfriends."
• Extreme Close-Up: After Marie ties up Double D the screen focuses entirely on her as she applies her lipstick. It keeps focus as she puckers up and leans in for a kiss and her lips soon take up the entire screen, turning it red. It fades to black once she lets out a loud "Mwah" sound, indicating she has kissed Double D.
• Failed a Spot Check: Ed doesn't realize he pulled May out of a drawer while looking for a spoon until she hugs him.
• Flop Sweat: When it's Eddy's turn to go after the Kankers, he's clearly nervous, and a single beat of sweat falls from his brow. Lee notices this and realizes what is happening, leading to the Kankers turning the tables on the Eds.
• Forceful Kiss:
  • At the beginning of the episode the Kankers attack each of their respective Eds in their own homes, restraining them before showering them in kisses and inviting their "boyfriends" to kiss them back. Marie tackles Double D from behind and ties him in a knot with his own hat, May hugs Ed before pulling him to the ground and pinning him down by sitting on top of him, and Lee sneaks her way into Eddy's shower from the drain and prevents him from escaping.
  • While Ed pretends to be in love with the Kankers he makes kissy faces at them several times, puckering up and trying to smooch them when he has them cornered several times.
  • At the end of the episode the Kankers once again do this to the Eds, puckering up while restraining the Eds as they beg the Kankers to stop. Marie grabs Double D's cheeks, forcing him to pucker up, and dips him, May sits on Ed's back and restrains his arms, and Lee stretches out Eddy while stepping on his midsection.
• Girls Have Cooties: Ed thinks so, as he shouts out when May gets ready to kiss him.
  May: (sitting on Ed after pinning him and holding him down) Put those lips together and make like a fish!
  (May puckers up and leans towards Ed, making kissy faces at him)
  Ed: (staring in horror at May's lips) Girl germs!
• Glad I Thought of It: Eddy does not understand the plan at first and is so worried for Ed he refuses to look. When the plan starts to work and Double D points it out, Eddy suddenly says "See? What'd I tell ya?"
• The Glomp: Marie weaponizes this against Double D in the beginning. She tackles him from behind, knocking him to the ground, where she proceeds to tie him up with his own hat, all while flirting with him and calling him pet names.
• Gone Horribly Wrong: The Eds attempt to get rid of the Kankers for good through Reverse Psychology, harassing them with affection the same way the Kankers have done to them. While they are successful for most of the episode, the Kankers instantly catch on to their plan when they notice how nervous Eddy is and lure the Eds into their own trap using their own plan against them with "Reverse-Reverse Psychology". The ending also implies that despite the Eds harassment, the whole event ultimately just made the Kankers' feelings for them even stronger and they love them even more now, and will never leave them alone now.
• Hoist by His Own Petard:
  • At the beginning of the episode, Marie ties Double D into a Human Knot using his own hat.
  • The Eds and Kankers both suffer this. The Kankers are constantly driven away screaming by The Eds hitting on them and harassing them, just like they have done to them. At the end of the episode, The Eds are tricked by The Kankers using "Reverse-Reverse Psychology".
• Human Knot: When Marie attacks Double D in the opening scene. To keep him still so she can kiss him with no resistance, she stretches out his hat, using it to tie bind his arms to his body.
• I Kiss Your Hand: When flirting with the Kankers, Ed does this to May when asking for her hand in "carriage". But instead of just lightly kissing her hand he gives it a wet sloppy kiss and shoves it into his mouth and sucks on it.
• Ignored Epiphany: The Kankers don't enjoy the harassments the Eds subject them to throughout the episode, the same kind of harassment they constantly subject the Eds too. Once they realize the Eds are trying to scare them off though, they revert back to their usual ways and continue to harass the Eds, despite knowing what it feels like now.
• Impact Silhouette:
  • When fighting over May's hairpin, Marie slams Lee into a tree, leaving an outline in the trunk of Lee before she jumps out to chase Marie.
  • When the Kankers are running away from the Eds in their trailer, they crash through the wall leaving outlines of them. The camera pans back to reveal an outline of Ed too, showing he is inside the wall with them, and the Kankers bust through their own outlines to get away.
• Incredibly Lame Fun: Double D mentions that torturing the Kankers is the most fun he has had since his father let him disassemble his shaver.
• Indy Ploy: As soon as the Kankers figure out that the Eds are faking their love for them and are in fact still scared of them, all three Kankers immediately regain their own crushes on them and immediately create a plan to get back at them, pretending to still be scared of them and luring them to their bedroom where they lock them inside and once again restrain and kiss them.
• Instantly Proven Wrong: When Marie leans in to kiss Double D at the start of the episode and her lips turn the screen red, Double D shouts "you wouldn't dare!" at her. Immediately after saying this, Marie lets out a loud "Mwah!" sound and the screen Fades to Black, indicating she kissed him and did dare.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: Almost the entire episode is the Eds getting back at the Kankers for their constant harassment and forceful kisses. For once the Kankers are on the receiving end of this treatment instead and don't enjoy it at all. Though this is mostly subverted, or at least heavily downplayed, when the Kankers turn the tables on the Eds at the end of the episode and return to the status quo of having crushes on them and forcing kisses on them.
• Kissing Discretion Shot: As usual this happens whenever the Kankers kiss the Eds.
  • The screen focuses on Marie as she applies her lipstick and leans in to kiss Double D, with the screen turning red as her lips cover the screen and block the view. The screen quickly fades to black once she lets out a loud "Mwah" sound, indicating she has kissed Double D.
  • May's and Ed's reflections are seen in a spoon as she leans in to kiss Ed, with Ed screaming in fear at her approaching lips, only to suddenly Smash Cut to Eddy's room.
  • After Eddy pulls Lee out of his shower drain the scene cuts to outside his shower, where he tries to escape before being pulled back in by Lee.
  • At the end of the episode when the Kankers prepare to kiss the Eds again after regaining their crushes on them, the scene quickly cuts to outside the trailer as the sound of the Kankers' kissing can be heard for a few moments before the Fade to Black ending.
• Luminescent Blush: May has one when Ed ruffles her hair and calls her pretty, though she loses it once she starts to get freaked out by Ed's flirting.
• Messy Hair: May has this when Ed ruffles her hair when he begins flirting with her and the other Kankers.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • The Eds almost made sure the Kankers never bothered them again, but because Eddy couldn't put his fear aside and sweated nervously in front of them, he made them realize the Eds were faking, leading to him and his friends getting trapped by them and kissed yet again.
  • The incident is even more Double D's fault, who basically forced Eddy to attempt to use reverse psychology on the Kankers again even though Ed had already successfully scared them off. And even when they go to the Kankers' trailer to confront them, he never encourages or reassures Eddy that their plan will work, he simply rushes in with Ed and expects an understandably nervous Eddy to be as confident as he and Ed were.
• Non-Nude Bathing: Eddy takes a shower with his pajamas on, and when he yanks Lee out of his shower drain she is shown wearing a skintight bathing suit.
• Not Me This Time: While hiding in the retro van, Edd smells a hideous odor, and thinks that it's Ed, only for Ed to tell him that its actually Eddy who smells. Eddy retorts that he had a Kanker hairball in his shower.
• Offscreen Teleportation: Ed and Double D do this for most of the episode, constantly appearing when The Kankers try to run away, blocking their path. Marie does it at the end of the episode when Double D is quickly turning through the pages in his book, with her suddenly appearing between the pages.
• Oh, Crap!: Several moments through the whole episode:
  • All the Eds panic at the beginning of the episode when they are attacked and kissed by their respected Kanker.
  • The Kankers freakout for most of the episode as they are constantly harassed by The Eds.
  • The Eds panic once again when the tables are turned and the Kankers prepare to kiss them once again.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: Normally, the topic of a person sexually harassing another would definitely not be funny; however, since it's The Kanker Sisters who are on the receiving end of it for most of the episode, it becomes cathartically hilarious.
• Rage Breaking Point: After the Eds meet up at the Retro Van and see they were all assaulted by the Kankers, this is the last straw for Eddy, and he angrily asks why the Kankers can't just leave them alone. Though Ed and Double D don't get as mad as him, they do agree that they want the Kankers gone after putting up with them one too many times.
• Revenge: Ed and Double D clearly enjoy getting back at the Kankers for all their harassment by giving them a taste of their own medicine and aggressively flirting with them to scare them off. At the end of the episode the Kankers get their own revenge on the Eds by locking them in their bedroom and once again smothering them in unwanted kisses, only unlike in the beginning of the episode they do it without flirting with the Eds or even trying to be romantic, and just do it to get back at them.
• Reverse Psychology: The main element of the episode. To get rid of The Kankers, The Eds pretend to have fallen in love with them and harass them like they have done to them. When The Kankers catch on though they pull a "Reverse-Reverse Psychology" and lure The Eds into a trap by pretending to still be scared of them.
• Rubber Man: At the end of the episode, Lee is seen restraining Eddy by stepping on his midsection while pulling on his legs and hairs to stretch him out and hold still while she kisses him.
• Sarcasm Mode: At the end of the episode the Kankers Bad "Bad Acting" can come off as this. Telling the Eds to "leave them alone" and how they are "trapped with them" in monotone voices before grabbing them and happily kissing them.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
  • When all three Kankers are frightened by Ed's aggressive flirting and harassment towards them, and creeped out as he slowly approaches them with puckered lips to kiss them, Marie tells Lee to do something. Lee does so by pushing May into the creek, her her keeping her afloat, and then using Marie as a paddle to get them all across the water and escape into the woods.
  • Eddy tries to do this after Double D tells him that all three of them need to flirt with the Kankers to ensure they scare them off. However, as he is walking away Double D has Ed get Eddy and they drag him along with them to the Kanker's trailer.
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Eddy doesn't participate in the series of reverse-psychology flirtations with the Kankers because he's too terrified that it'll all blow up in his face and leave him at the mercy of the Kankers. When Double D makes Eddy take a turn, his nervousness ends up giving away the fact they're only faking their attraction, allowing the Kankers to recover and set up a trap for them.
• Sexual Euphemism: Downplayed example with May, with the euphemism just being about kissing rather than sex. When she pins down Ed and sits on top of him, preparing to kiss him, she tells him "Put those lips together and make like a fish!" before leaning in and making kissy faces at him. This is clearly her way of flirting with Ed, inviting him to kiss her back, but in the previous scene her sister Marie did basically the same thing with Double D by simply telling him to "pucker up".
• Shoot the Shaggy Dog: The Eds’ efforts to get rid of the Kankers are ruined by Eddy blowing their cover due to his nervousness. To make it worse, the Kankers trap The Eds in their room, with their crushes on them restored and stronger than ever, and proceed to happily kiss their reaffirmed "boyfriends".
• Shout-Out: When Lee attacks Eddy in his shower, the moment of Eddy's hand pressing against the glass door and sliding down resembles the scene from Titanic (1997) when Jack and Rose make love in the car. Alternatively it also is similar to the famous shower scene from Psycho.
• Shower of Love: Lee pulls off an extremely twisted version. She somehow fits herself into the drain of Eddy's shower and he yanks her out when she clogs the drain and floods his shower. She then stops Eddy from escaping the shower and gives an Evil Laugh before kissing him off-screen, though thankfully during this Eddy was still wearing his clothes and Lee was wearing a skintight bathing suit. It is possible Lee was trying to be romantic toward Eddy during this like her sisters were for their "boyfriends" in the opening, though for Eddy the whole thing seems more like a Shower of Awkward.
• Sibling Rivalry: The Kankers briefly fight each other over May's hairpin, each one wanting it for a new hairdo to impress their "boyfriend".
• Signature Item Clue: After Double D finishes cleaning his backyard equipment, he finds a tube of lipstick and wonders what it is doing in his backyard. He quickly realizes who it belongs to and silently panics, but before he can make a move to escape he is tackled from behind by Marie, who snatches her lipstick back, and tied up by her with his own hat. It is implied Marie left her lipstick out in the open for Double D to find and waited until he did before pouncing on him.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Rolf only appears for one scene and is the only character besides The Eds and Kankers to appear at all, but his mentioning of using a rock to break another rock gives Double D the inspiration to use Reverse Psychology on The Kankers.
• Spotting the Thread: The Kankers are initially fooled by Ed and Double D pretending the be in love with them, and are cowering in the presence of the Ed’s due to their harassment. But, when they notice a nervous bead of sweat run down Eddy's face, they realize that the Ed’s are only faking their attraction to them.
• Squish the Cheeks: Doubling as a Villainous Face Hold, at the end of the episode Marie grabs Double D by his cheeks and after chuckling evilly at him presses his cheeks together to force him to pucker up as she prepares to kiss him.
• Status Quo Is God: By the end of the episode the Eds have failed to get rid of the Kankers, and are once again attacked with kisses.
• Stealth Pun: When Lee causes Eddy's shower to flood, a bar of soap ends up sinking to the bottom, causing him to notice her hair, pull her out, and give her the opportunity to attack him with kisses. In other words, she both literally and figuratively “dropped the soap.”
• Sunk Cost Fallacy: The Kankers have been thoroughly turned off the Eds purely from Ed and Edd's behavior, but Edd's insistence on forcing Eddy to participate despite him clearly being nervous and unprepared ends up pushing their luck too far when the Kankers notice Eddy sweating and realizing they're being played.
• Swapped Roles: The Eds and Kankers basically switch roles in their "relationship" for most of the episode. The Eds are now the "Love-struck harassers" and the Knakers fill the role of the "victim who fails to escape from unwanted affection". However, they end up switching back in the final moments of the episode.
• "Take That!" Kiss:
  • Zig-zagged in the opening scene between all the Kankers and Eds. Although the Kankers imply they are trying to be romantic toward their "boyfriends", by flirting with them and inviting them to kiss them back, they still attack and restrain the Eds in their own homes for seemingly no reason other than to kiss them.
  • Ed makes kissy faces at the Kankers while flirting with them several times, even wearing lipstick like them at one point.
  • Once The Kankers catch on to The Ed’s plan they trap them in their room. After pretending to be scared a little longer they quickly drop the act and smother them in kisses while restraining them and giggling at them. Unlike in the opening scene of the episode this is played straight without the Kankers flirting with the Eds or dropping any romantic hints. They are simply kissing the Eds to get revenge on them and reestablish their "dominance" in their "relationship".
• A Taste Of His Own Medicine: The Eds decide to act towards the Kankers the way the Kankers have towards them to scare them off. It works at first, until the girls catch on to their act and lure them into a trap using Reverse-Reverse Psychology.
• Terms of Endangerment: When Marie attacks Double D at the start of the episode she flirtly calls him two pet names as she ties him in a knot and prepares to kiss him.
  Marie: YAHOO! (tackles Double D from behind and ties him up) Hiya, dreamboat! (applies her lipstick and smirks at Double D) Pucker up, oven mitt!
• This Cannot Be!: Double D screams "This can't be!" when he realizes too late that The Kankers tricked them.
• This Is Gonna Suck: The Eds scream in fear at the end of the episode once the Kankers restrain them and subject them to another round of kisses.
  Double D: This can't be! They've turned the tables on us, Eddy! IT'S A REVERSE-REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY!
  (The Kankers chuckle and prepare to kiss The Eds)
  Ed & Eddy: WE'RE TOO YOUNG! AAAAAAH!
• Victoria's Secret Compartment: Lee puts the key to the Kanker's bedroom door in her shirt after locking The Eds inside with them.
• Villainous Face Hold: At the end of the episode, as Double D panics upon realizing that the Kankers tricked them using "Reverse-Reverse Psychology", Marie reaches out and grabs him by the face. After chuckling evilly for a moment, Marie dips him while still holding him and pressing his cheeks together, essentially holding him still and forcing him to pucker up as she prepares to kiss him.
• Visible Odor: For once one that doesn't come from Ed. While at the Retro Van Eddy has these coming off of him. He had to skip his shower for the day since Lee attacked him in it and got one of her hairballs stuck in the drain.
• Wolf Whistle: When Marie is applying her lipstick a whistle sound effect is played before she kisses the screen.
• Would Hit a Girl: When Eddy is pestering Double D to think of a plan to get rid of the Kankers he seems excited with the idea of "hitting them with a book" when Double D says they use Reverse-Psychology against them.
• Yank the Dog's Chain: The Eds nearly ensure The Kankers never bother them again, but an ill-fated sweat-drop ruins the plan. The Eds get overconfident and are lured into the Kanker's bedroom and are trapped inside, with The Kankers catching them and forcing a second make out session for the day on them. To make things worse for the Eds, it is implied their efforts only made the Kankers even more attracted to them.
• You Are Too Late: Eddy finally gains the confidence to hit on the Kankers with Ed and Double D, but by that point his initial fear has already revealed everything to the Kankers and they were just pretending to still be scared, and Eddy's overconfidence ends up leading the three of them into a trap.

---